Photo: Tania Marti

Rainbow Riots is a politically and religiously independent, non-profit organisation advocating for human rights for LGBTQ people globally, using arts and culture as our tools.

The organisation Rainbow Riots is registered both in Sweden and Uganda.

The association is run by founder and managing director Petter Wallenberg, a Swedish artist, musician, author and human rights activist.

Rainbow Riots envisions a world where every human lives free from prejudice and where lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people are free to be who they are without persecution and discrimination.

We are dedicated to bring about an end to discrimination against LGBTQ people globally, and realise a world of fundamental freedom and equality for all.

Our mission is to increase the visibility of LGBTQ people around the world by providing a platform for creative voice, especially in places where their human rights are compromised. By deploying a combination of human rights activism, arts and culture, our mission is to empower, celebrate and build momentum for change for an often marginalised and persecuted group.

Our work takes a personal, hands-on approach which involves capacity-building on an individual level to strengthen the community as a whole. Through fostering change at the grass-roots level, Rainbow Riots aims to build a platform for marginalised LGBTQ communities globally. We empower each individual member of these communities to defeat isolation, build a supportive network and discover their self-expression.

Our mission is to give voice and visibility to LGBTQ people by using our artistic skills and vast experience of the creative field. With creativity at the core of our vision and working methods, we enable a higher level of diversity and inclusivity within the community whilst also reaching a wider audience outside the community. Music, arts and culture are universal languages, and by sharing experience across the network we will both raise awareness in countries where LGBTQ issues are controversial or illegal and identify opportunities to confront prejudice. By doing so, we aim to influence opinion and act as a catalyst for lasting changes in attitudes and legislation. We believe that arts and culture can change the world because of their combined power to change people’s attitudes.

Photo: Tania Marti

Rainbow Riots was founded in Stockholm, Sweden in 2012 by artist and activist Petter Wallenberg as an international network fighting injustice and violence against LGBTQ people. Since 2015 Rainbow Riots is also based and registered in Kampala, Uganda where we work with our Ugandan team to build capacity in the fight for equality for the Ugandan LGBTQ community.

There are more than a hundred million people living in countries where being a minority with a different sexual orientation is punishable, sometimes by death. We are dedicated to show that LGBTQ people are to be found everywhere, throughout history and are part of our common human narrative.

Through the most difficult times LGBTQ people of the world have created a resilient counter-culture. This is our heritage and our responsibility as a community – to fight hatred with creativity.

In 2017 we released the music album Rainbow Riots, produced and composed by Petter Wallenberg and featuring queer voices from the world’s most dangerous countries for LGBTQ people, from Uganda to South Africa, Jamaica and Malawi. The album is a creative way to give an international platform for the voices who are being silenced. The first single “Equal Rights” featuring Jamaican rapper and activist Mista Majah P is part of an official campaign to raise awareness about the UN’s Global Goals for Sustainable Development and since the launch Rainbow Riots has been championed by media all over the world from the BBC to Dazed who called Rainbow Riots “the zenith of international queer activism.”

All proceeds from the Rainbow Riots album go to Rainbow Riots Organisation’s work to fight inequalities against LGBTQ people in Uganda and internationally.

Rainbow Riots is a movement using music, arts and culture as a tool for empowerment. With this as our ethos, we have established Rainbow Riots as an organisation in Sweden and Uganda with the manifesto to creatively fight for equality for LGBTQ people the world over. We are dedicated to let the silenced voices be heard, loud and clear. We believe that if you can make the world listen, you can make the world change.